by TYRONE EVELYN

SPORTS & GAMES LODGE ROAD maintained their grip on the 2008 Division 1 title with a punishing 4-0 defeat of Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) at the Table Tennis Centre, John Beckles Drive, Constitution Road, St Michael, on Thursday night.

Lodge Road's three-man team of Kevin Farley, Rodney Wood and Wilmont "Funk" Goddard proved too good for BUT's trio of Paul Thorpe, David Harris and Dennis France.

Farley sent Lodge Road on their way with a quick dismissal of Paul Thorpe in straight games, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7.

However, Goddard had to pull out all the stops to beat a defiant Harris, who proved no walkover. Harris actually won the first game at nine but Goddard reduced his errors to take the second game 11-7.

Harris again broke down Goddard's defences to take the third game again at nine but the Lodge Road veteran bounced back to level
the score 2-2 by taking the fourth game 11-9.

The fifth and decisive game was equally exciting as the players exchanged point for point throughout before Goddard broke the veteran coach before winning 14-12.

With Lodge Road leading 2-0, Wood came up against France in the third set and although it went only four games, both players produced some of the best tennis of the match before Wood edged home 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9 to make it 3-0 in favour of Lodge Road.

Wood then teamed up with Farley and the pair were taken to five games before winning 11-3, 9-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, giving their team its 4-0 win.

In the other two matches played, Fast Loopers and Mango Bay Scouters both registered 4-1 wins over Rotherley Construction Raiders and Barbados Defence Force (BDF) respectively.

In the Fast Loopers/Raiders match-up, Trevor Farley and Shawn Bellamy were in the forefront of their team's easy win.

Bellamy overcame Paco Moss in four games in the opening set, 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-2; Farley blew away Courtney Springer in straight games, at 5, 6 and 5 in the second set and Moss, also in straight games at 5, 2 and 10 in the fifth and final set.

In the doubles, Farley and Bellamy teamed up and defeated Moss and Abbie "Playboy" Clarke, again in straight games, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5.

Raiders' lone win came from Clarke who was taken to four games by Dario Murray, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3.

National champion and BDF's top player Anderson Carrington, who returned to local tennis after campaigning in the United States for a number of weeks, was not at his best and lost his first match of the season when he was beaten 3-2 by Mark Dowell in their match-up against Mango Bay Scouters.

Carrington went under 11-9, 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 8-11; he also lost the doubles when he teamed up with Sherrice Felix and they went under to Dowell and Clifton Mark 9-11, 14-16, 11-7, 9-11.

Felix won BDF's lone set when she defeated Bryan Matthews 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10.